Baku, Azerbaijan, is a great city with intensive cultural life. You can find exhibitions, concerts, theatrical performances there – and here let me mention some of the most important museums of the Azerbaijan capital!
1. Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum
Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum is an absolutely unique museum dedicated solely to the carpets, its ornaments, weaving and storing of the historical exhibits.
As Azerbaijan is one of the oldest carpet centers in the world, the weaving art reached the highest level here.
You’ll learn about different types of carpets, dye methods and you can even witness a real weaver making a carpet right in front of you.
The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum was founded in 1967 but the current building where the museum resides now opened to the public in 2014. This building is astonishing: it imitates a folded carpet!
2. National Museum of History of Azerbaijan
The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan is located inside the former residence of famous industrial magnate and philanthropist Hajji Mirza Zeynalabdin Taghi oghlu Taghiyev (his residence was confiscated by the Soviet government).
As the title suggests, here you can get the insights into all stages of Baku history, from ancient habitants of this area and their petroglyphs, through the pre-Muslim stages of development to the more modern times when Azerbaijan was included into Russian empire, then claimed a part of USSR and finally became an independent country.
After you visit the main exposition, proceed to see the restored rooms of the Memorial Museum of Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.
3. Heydar Aliyev Center
Heydar Aliyev Center is a fantastic architectural masterpiece by Zaha Hadid, a museum and a cultural centre.
The centre opened in 2012 and is named after Heydar Aliyev, the first secretary of Soviet Azerbaijan (1969-1982) and the president of Azerbaijan (1993-2003).
It’s a great starting point to learn various aspects of Azerbaijani culture and heritage: for instance, to see traditional carpet themes and ornaments.
Another thing to do is to admire the art of doll making with the rarest dolls in the collection made by Azerbaijan’s first doll-makers Luisa Daghistanly and Solmaz Musayeva.
There’s also a fantastic representation of traditional musical instruments such as kamancha, garmon, saz, balaban and so on: you can not only see them on display, but also hear them and watch them in the making!
Exhibition Mini Azerbaijan features a few dozen of the most prominent architectural sites of the country (including the centre itself of course!). There’s also a car collection and a number of modern art objects.
4. Shirvanshahs Palace museum complex
The Shirvanshahs are the dynasty that controlled this area for 7 centuries, from around the 9th century to the 16th century. And they needed a new palace after their old one in Shamakha city was destroyed by an earthquake – so Baku became a new social, commercial and administrative centre!
The Palace of the Shirvanshahs is a historical complex of the 15th century which is considered a medieval masterpiece of Azerbaijan and has been transformed and enlarged during a few centuries. It consists of the several buildings.
Inside the palace itself there is a museum now. The tomb of Shah in the Divankhane courtyard remains unfinished and this space could have been used for the State council meetings – the octagonal building is probably the most famous of them all. The tomb of Shirvanshahs’s family built in 1435-1436 was erected for Khalilullah’s I mother and his small son, and later on, Khalilullah I, his wife and his other two sons were also buried here.
The tomb of the court scientist Seyid Yahya Bakuvi is located behind the palace. The old mosque dates to 1441. You can also have a look at the old bathhouse. And there are also the Murad gates, the traces of the shooting dating to the 20th century and there are the ruins of a few more buildings.
And of course, don’t miss the exposition about the Shirvanshahs inside the palace itself (it used to be much larger) – and for a small additional fee you can visit a small exhibition about jewelry and coins.
5. Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature
Next, we’re visiting Nizami Museum of Azerbaijani Literature. Unfortunately, it’s forbidden to shoot inside but it’s a great museum about the most famous Azerbaijani poets, writers, dramatists and philosophers up to the late 20th century.
The museum is named after famous poet of the 12th century Nizami Ganjavi, and you’ll learn here about the history of the country and about lives and main pieces of Mahammad Fuzuli, Molla Panah Vagif, Mirza Fatali Akhundov, Khurshidbanu Natavan, Jalil Mammadguluzade and others. There are a few dozen rooms spread through two floors (other floors are not accessible for the public). Our visit was accompanied by a great guide (I’m not sure you can visit without one).
6. Azerbaijan National Museum of Art
Azerbaijan National Museum of Art, the largest art museum of the country founded in 1936, occupies two gorgeous mansions of the 19th century recently connected by a glass building.
You can find different periods and countries represented here, but the overall number of exhibits available fur visitors is not very big. However, the overall museum collection is over 17.000 exhibits!
You can find here Russian, Soviet and of course Azerbaijani art too!
I also must note that you can take photos with a camera here without paying an extra fee (around 25£, as I’ve been told later at the exit), and although the staff seems to be friendly they watch your every step (I felt like I was back in Russia).
7. Museum of Miniature Books
Another museum worth your time in the Old city is the Museum of miniature books.
It’s a private museum of small printed books collected by Salakhova Zarifa Teymur and opened in 2002. The books are displayed in 39 glass cases divided by some general topics with lots of attention given to the classical authors and to the Azerbaijani and Russian masterpieces. T
he rarest books here are micro-books: one 0.75*0.75 mm and three in 2*2 mm format by “Toppan” Publishing House, Tokyo, Japan; and a few slightly bigger German books. This museum also has the World Guinness Record for the largest collection of miniature books! You can also buy some magnetic mini books here as a souvenir.
Don’t forget to check my latest travel blogs!
Yours,
Anna xxx
